As the new administrator, Stephanie Weaver’s goal for the Veterans Home of California-West Los Angeles really is quite simple.

“I could end up as a resident here someday,” said Weaver, appointed to the post by Governor Gavin Newsom in September. “I want it to be the best Home in the system. I want for them what I’d want for me.”

Them, being the veterans and spouses who live in the 13-year-old Veterans Home, or will at some point in their lives.

With Veterans Day upon us, we conclude our series of stories featuring CalVet employees who bring their dedication and passion to work each and every day. They are, indeed, “Veterans Serving Veterans,” as the name of the series suggests. Count Weaver among them.

Her military career spanned more than two decades in the Army National Guard, and upon retiring in 2014 she served as the National Guard Liaison to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the National Guard Bureau in the nation’s capital.

Weaver became deputy administrator at the Veterans Home of California-Yountville in 2019, working there until being appointed to the 396-bed West Los Angeles Home last month. As a veteran, she said, she can think of no better way to serve other veterans than to make sure they get the best support in terms of physical and behavioral health care at the Veterans Home. She understands the needs of the veterans and their spouses who are often uprooted from their longtime homes, leaving their comfort zones behind when they move into the Veterans Home.

It helps that she speaks the veteran dialect.

“Having’ been there, done that’ really means a lot to them,” Weaver said. “It helps me understand what some of them might be feeling, and enables me to help them through that transition.

They need comfort, a sense of trust and security to feel the Home is their home, she said.

“I mean that,” Weaver said. “I want them to have the activities … the sense of community … to be able to read books from a library they can access. It’s their home and I want them to feel comfortable. When they come here, they often are giving up their independence—and losing that independence is huge.”

Those who serve in the armed forces, she said, are taught to look out for everyone else—to have each other’s back—and that is what CalVet’s eight Homes do: they have the veterans’ backs, as well as the backs of the veterans’ spouses and families too.

“We have clinical social workers and therapists in every Home,” Weaver said. It sets CalVet Veterans Homes apart from most other elder care facilities. “The benefit is enormous.” So is the benefit of veterans serving veterans in the eight Veterans Homes of California system of care, and in all the other divisions of CalVet.

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This is the final story in the series of CalVet Connect posts introducing you to CalVet employees who are veterans of the United States Armed Forces—thus, “Veterans Serving Veterans.”

Would you like the opportunity to serve veterans in your work? Join the CalVet team! We are dedicated to ensuring that veterans from every era, along with their families, receive the state and federal benefits and services they have earned and deserve due to their selfless and honorable military service. At CalVet, we prioritize serving veterans and their families with dignity, compassion, and a commitment to helping them achieve the highest quality of life. See our current career opportunities at www.calcareers.ca.gov/CalHRPublic/Search/JobSearchResults.aspx#depid=85.

The Veterans Homes of California system of care offers affordable long-term care to older and disabled veterans as well as their eligible spouses and domestic partners. With eight facilities across the state, the services offered range from assisted living programs with minimal support to 24-hour skilled nursing care for veterans with significant clinical needs including memory care.

CalVet staff are uniquely capable of serving the needs of our veterans and provide an environment that honors their service to the country. The Veterans Homes are nationally recognized for the premier care and services they provide to California’s veterans. ​For more information on the Homes visit www.calvet.ca.gov/calvet-programs/veteran-homes.